Counting Biju
by zetca
Summary: Nine little one-shots about the Jinchuuriki.
1. One's Sorrow

One's Sorrow

On the night of the full moon, in the village known as Sunagakure, there is always a lone figure standing on the rooftops. His short red hair flutters in the winds that give the country its name. From an ever present gourd which adorns his back, the faint smell of blood emanates. His dark rimmed eyes stare out over the deserted streets, and if anyone were to look closely, they'd see his pain and his rage and his madness swirling beneath an indifferent façade. But no-one will seek the truth behind those eyes. For they belong to Sabaku no Gaara, son of the Yondaime Kazekage, jailer of the Ichibi no Tanuki also known as Shukaku. His is Jinchuuriki, a living sacrifice holding the power of a Biju back, living to save the lives of others.

And yet the people fear him. Those he protects shun him. His own father despises him. And so, he fights to protect his own existence. He kills those who seek to kill him to validate his own existence. He survives so he will not disappear. However, the night of the full moon is different. He remembers what it is to have someone who does not fear him, who looks after him, who loves him. He remembers the feelings that he experienced, the warmth that he felt. And the pain that came when he was betrayed by the one person he let in. His own uncle tried to kill him, on the orders of his father. And for the first time, Gaara had to kill someone to save his own life.

Never again. He wouldn't let anyone in like that again. He was the only one who loved him, and he wouldn't let anyone hurt him like that again. That night, he had carved the kanji for love into his own forehead as a symbol. As a reminder of what he had had... and what had been taken from him.

In the light of the full moon, Gaara remembers what it is to feel things other than the urge to kill. And every full moon, a desolate cry carries through the sleeping village of Sunagakure. A cry so full of despair and sorrow that the most battle hardened Anbu shiver, the villagers have terrible nightmares. And the Kazekage himself awakens with tears streaming down his face, remembering the pain of losing his wife.

**This is the first of nine little one shots about each of the Jinchuuriki, and some aspects of their lives. Each title is a line from part of a variant of the rhyme for counting crows or magpies. I watched The Crow: City of Angels, and when I saw Ashe beating up one of the guys who killed him while reciting the Counting Crows rhyme, I got the inspiration for this. However I need your help. I need names for the 3, 5, 6, and 7-tailed containers, since I'm not good at making up names. Let me know by messaging me or reviewing and say which name for which Jinchuuriki. **

**Oh, and I don't own Naruto.**


	2. Two's Mirth

Two's Mirth

It was the middle of the day in Kumogakure. The sun was beating down and the sky was unusually clear. A blonde woman was sprawled out on the roof of her home, relaxing in the warmth. Her slanted eyes were closed as she thought about how her life had turned out.

As a child, she was avoided. None of her peers would play games with her, told by their parents that she was dangerous, and wicked. Those who spent time with her were grounded for a short while, and they'd avoid her afterwards, angry that she'd got them into trouble. Her only friends were the alley cats that followed her when she went out into the streets.

Then she met an older man who showed her how to do amazing things. He could walk up buildings, walk over water, and make lightning strike the ground. He asked her if she wanted to become a shinobi. She agreed as long as she could learn to do those things as well.

She later found out that the man was the Raikage, and not as nice as he'd first appeared. On the other hand, she owed everything to him as he took her in and taught her everything she would need to know. When she officially became a shinobi, the reason she'd been shunned was revealed to her. For she is Nii Yugito, Jinchuuriki of the Nibi no Nekomata.

She was introduced to a jounin who was a few years older than her. His name was Kirabi, and he was just like her, a Jinchuuriki. He became her sensei, her older brother, her best friend. They worked together on missions, and joked around when off duty. All the time, she was becoming stronger, more dangerous to her enemies, more trusted by her allies. When she became a chuunin, the glares stopped. People still didn't trust her fully, they didn't like her totally, but they respected her abilities as a kunoichi.

Now she was 22, a feared jounin in her own right, before she started to draw on the powers of the Nibi. Kirabi's older brother succeeded her first mentor as Raikage, and she was part of his personal guard. Her first mentor had stepped down after an attempt to steal the Hyuuga heiress from Konoha was foiled, nearly leading to a war that they couldn't have won.

She remembered the look on the Raikage's face when Kirabi broke out rapping during his inauguration and the photo's Kirabi had spread of the time he'd shaved his brother's eyebrows off. Her peals of laughter resounded around the rooftops, and those that heard it smiled.

**Hope this is okay, mirth and Jinchuuriki were hard to put together. I was tempted to put in a ball of wool, and judicious use of catnip, but decided against it. I'm trying to do all nine before March, so expect the next one soon. This is set 7 years before she died, in case you were wondering. Til next time.**

**I still don't own Naruto, otherwise Gaara and Naruto would've at least met Yugito.**


	3. Three's a Wedding

Three's a Wedding

In Kirigakure, there were rumours that the most closely followed romance in the village was about to be settled. The jounin sensei of one of the most successful genin in Kirigakure's history was going to marry her long time boyfriend, a chuunin medic nin working at the hospital. The exact details were only known to the few who would be there.

Kiyoshi was one of those. He is the Jinchuuriki of the Sanbi no Kyodaigame, and a member of the only genin team in Kiri to have completed an S-ranked mission. The details of the mission were highly classified, and the genin had had to recover from both serious injuries and severe chakra depletion, but the mission was a success.

Kiyoshi was fairly easy to recognise since he had a distinctive aura around him. Plants would burst into bloom if he stayed in one place for too long, making the citizens wonder if he was related to the Shodaime Hokage of Konoha. He had violet eyes with no pupils that seemed to almost look through you, and a strange birthmark that ran down from his left eye, an after effect of the sealing.

Not many people knew about the Sanbi, only his team, the Mizukage and his family. Because of this, he had grown up as a normal child, lacking the cruelty that most Jinchuuriki had to live with. He knew he'd been lucky, especially when he's been told about some of his predecessors' lives.

As the wedding march started up, his mood darkened. Everyone who knew about his curse, apart from his little brother Yuukimaru, treated him with a certain... wariness. Nothing too overt, just caution, like a potentially rabid dog that may turn on its owner with any sudden movements. He'd probably never have a wedding like this, considering what he held. All he could do is enjoy his friends' weddings and be content with that.

Still, today was a joyous occasion, not a time to be maudlin. His sensei was finally getting married; he had some time off from killing, and he could let his self control slip a little. The bride looked radiant, carrying rare mist orchids that Kiyoshi had convinced to bloom, and wearing a dress with small desert lilies embedded in it, again thanks to Kiyoshi. He owed his sensei a lot, and this was the best way he could think of to repay her.

The vows were exchanged quickly; being short and sweet, since drawing things out is a bad thing for a shinobi to do. As they kissed, the entire congregation joined in a round of applause apart from Kiyoshi. Kiyoshi was bent double coughing into his fist, unnoticed by everyone. When his fit subsided, his fist was covered in blood, which he quickly wiped away. There was another reason he suspected he would never be married; the seal holding the Sanbi had a fatal flaw, his body was slowly being broken down. It was a secret he had managed to keep from everyone, because he didn't want to see the looks in their eyes if he told them he'd be dead within two years. He didn't know if they'd pity him or be relieved, and he'd rather live without knowing.

Ignorance is bliss, after all.

**There we go, another one down. I tried to show that if no-one knows about a Jinchuuriki, they might have a good life. Also I figure he died fairly young, so the wedding mentioned wouldn't be his own. I still don't own Naruto, so I can't make this canon.**


	4. Four's a Birth

Four's a Birth

A red haired, bearded man with a black mark covering his cheeks and nose was sat in the waiting room of a hospital. He had a variety of emotions running through him, ranging from excitement to nervousness. His name was Rōshi, a former Iwagakure jounin, and the Jinchuuriki of the Yonbi no Saru, the four tailed monkey.

He had parted company with his home village some thirteen years previously, when he had grown bored with his stale life in Iwa. He had fought in the war against Konoha and built a reputation for himself, though he never came up against the Yellow Flash. After Iwa's surrender, he had gone to the Tsuichikage and handed in his resignation, saying he wished to see the world and "make peace with his inner demons." The Tsuichikage was an old friend of his, and eventually agreed, though it was put down in the shinobi register as an extended training trip, so he wouldn't be marked a nuke-nin. With that, Iwa's Molten Fury left the annals of history, never to return.

He spent his time travelling to various countries, avoiding Konoha and Suna for obvious reasons. He had enough money to pick what missions he wanted to take. He wandered the elemental countries, gaining mastery over his Youton affinity, and coming to an accord with the Yonbi. However, there was still something missing, something that he couldn't quite put his finger on.

Then he met her. She was a tall blonde civilian woman, living in an orphanage in a small village in Marsh country. He fell for her at first sight, though it was three weeks before he plucked up the courage to speak to her. She was kind and caring, nice to a fault. When after three months of dating he started to run out of money, she had him move into her apartment. He proposed after a year, and they were wed within two months of that. The night he proposed, he told her of his burden, and she still accepted him. It was the happiest moment of his life; surpassed only by the time she told him she was pregnant.

His attention was attracted by a nurse coming out of the delivery room. He rushed in, and saw the most beautiful thing in his life. His wife holding their daughter with a huge smile on her face. His mood briefly darkened; at some point he'd have to disappear. A few years ago he'd met and become friends with the Toad Sage, Jiraiya of the Sannin. He'd recently received a message from him, telling him that a group of S-classed nuke-nin was on a hunt for the Biju. To protect his family, he'd need to leave them to face this 'Akatsuki' alone. Maybe he'd take up Jiraiya on that offer to move to Konoha.

But that was a thought for another time. Right now, he had more important matters. Matters that included his beautiful wife, and his precious daughter. His family. For there is nothing more important than the bonds of love and blood that bind us.

**In my opinion, Jiraiya would keep track on known Jinchuuriki, and if Roushi is as old as he seems, he'd have been fairly visible in the Konoha-Iwa war. They probably bonded over Icha Icha. That's an interesting idea for a one shot or Omake. This one was fairly easy to knock out, just give me a little information and away I go. I own nothing, not even the clothes on my back, for after I die, these items will still exist in some part, and I will have no further use for them. That's not an invitation to steal from me! **


	5. Five's a Christening

**Five's a Christening**

In Iwagakure, the Village Hidden in the Stone, a gathering was taking place between three friends. Sat at a table, there were two on one side wearing formal yukata, and the other sat on his own wearing red armour with odd chimney-like structures on his back, which were emitting steam. They had been a genin team together during the wars, and had acquitted themselves admirably. However, there was always a slight wariness towards one member of the team, a slight hesitance that told trained shinobi that the third member maybe wasn't quite as welcome as he may appear. It was understandable, however, to those who knew the secrets of the team. The third member was a ninja known as Han, and he was known to be slightly unstable and to have a bizarre control over steam and smoke. What wasn't well known was that his gifts weren't his through a previously unknown bloodline, but through slightly more demonic means. For he was the container of the Gobi no Irukauma, the five-tailed dolphin horse.

The main reason for the wariness was that both Han and Yakusho had a crush on their female teammate, Sadi, and she preferred the company of Yakusho. Tensions had been high between the two boys, though when Han eventually found out Sadi was dating Yakusho, he did something completely unexpected. He stepped aside, recognizing he'd already lost. Their friendship was saved, and the relationship had blossomed.

As Han left the meeting, there was more steam than usual emitting from the chimneys, and an eerie smile on his face, one that usually preceded scalding hot steam coating the area. He was in a good mood, and had been told some great news. His oldest friends were having their first child, and he was asked to be the godfather. This gave him the honour of helping name the baby, and looking after it if his teammates were unable to. It also gave him an opportunity to pass on his techniques since it was unlikely that he'd ever get a child of his own. His smile grew into a psychotic grin stretching from ear to ear. Finally, someone he could convince that explosions were the future. They'd managed to settle on a name that blended the parents' ideas for a normal name, with his penchant for the dramatic and memorable. If the baby was a girl, she'd be called Tsuki, though privately Han knew it would be a boy. The Gobi had occasional glimpses into the future, and as such Testu had seen that this child would have an important part to play in the future, though as he wasn't the Gobi, his visions were clouded and he couldn't always be one hundred percent certain of what the role would be. He'd pushed hard on the name for if the child was a boy, knowing it was important, and finally the parents had agreed to name the child Deidara.

**I'm back! Bet you didn't see the last part coming. If you're wondering, I set this before the war with Konoha, and the 5****th**** Jinchuuriki isn't far into his twenties. This isn't as good as it maybe should be, but I really wanted to get to the last four since they would potentially have the most interesting stories. Naruto is going to be fun!**

**I may put up a timeline for when these stories happened as there seemed to be a little confusion with the first chapter. Let me know if you think it's a good idea, and as always review. **

**I don't own Naruto so please don't sue me. I don't have any money anyway, just some shiny discs of metal and pieces of paper with numbers on them.**


	6. Six a Dearth

**Six a Dearth**

A young man sat staring out of a hotel window, as the rain covered the land of Tea. His forehead bore no hitai-ate, his body carried no armour, and yet the man held himself with a certain surety that marked him as a warrior. Bizarrely, he sat like a monk or sage, completely at ease with the world around him. He was a jounin of Kirigakure, on a solo undercover mission. His name was Utakata, Jinchuuriki of the Rokubi no Namekuji, the six tailed slug.

Clad in a blue kimono, his thoughts turned to his past. He'd graduated from the bloody ritual slaying of a classmate at the academy with ease, thanks to how they scorned him and treated him like a monster. Of course, when he became an apprentice under one of the seven swordsmen, he found out that it was pretty much true. He'd learned much under his master, how to wield weapons effectively and with deadly efficiency, how to draw power from his prisoner, how to take advantage of the benefits being a host gave him, and how to create techniques for his esoteric arsenal. The main advantage was the ability to utilise bubbles, to surround his opponents with something that looked harmless, but in the end was more than deadly enough to surprise even the most experienced of veterans. They combined his natural affinity to water, with a trained affinity to lightning to make them a shocking prospect to fight. He could get you with a big bubble, or he could get you with hundreds of tiny bubbles that the eye could barely follow, and the body was unlikely to evade. He could control the Suiro no Jutsu from a distance, not requiring his proximity or taking up one of his hands. He could use it multiple times, once trapping seventeen bandits at the same time, then crushing them with immense water pressure.

After his master deemed him ready, he was tested as a jounin, passing with flying colours. His days as a weakling were definitely over, and his stock began rising in shinobi circles. He was listed as an A-ranked threat in many bingo books, most notably Iwagakure's, Sunagakure's and Kusagakure's. Iwa and Suna hated him for being able to use water in dry regions thanks to his bamboo pipe, while Kusa had been on the receiving end of too many electrified bubbles to forgive him. Not that he ever asked for forgiveness.

As a jounin, almost all of his missions had been solo, mostly due to his first mission when he mentally scarred three chuunins so badly that they were retired from normal chuunin duties, and put alongside the Kaguya clan. Only insane people weren't afraid of them, and those three feared no-one other than Utakata from that day forwards. So he worked alone. And he liked it that way. He enjoyed the peace, quiet and solitude that his unique life offered. If his career didn't pan out well, he could always try the lifestyle of a monk. The Rokubi was fairly laid back most of the time, and spent a great deal of time sleeping. However, the rest of time it spent trying to escape in more and more brutal ways, reminding Utakata that despite its almost bipolar personality, it was still a Biju and a powerful one at that.

As he stared out of the window, a thick mist that had been slowly making its way towards the inn covered the surrounding area. As paranoid as all good ninjas are, he used his chakra sensing skills to check the fog. There was no chakra in it, but as he was about to relax, the Rokubi shouted out a warning. He caught it then, the slightest flicker of chakra from the very edge of the mist. Someone had used the theory behind the Kirigakure no Jutsu to harness a natural mist and herd it gently towards him. It must have taken a lot of chakra, and the only reason to use it would be if the target was a good chakra sensor like him. The only problem was that only his sensei knew just how good he was, and that meant that whoever this was knew Hoshigaki Kisame, one of the most infamous missing nin of Kiri. This looked bad, if they knew of his abilities, it was probably....

A loud bang rocked the room, as two figures crashed through the wall. One carried a large three bladed scythe, while the other had a covered mouth and bizarrely coloured eyes. They wore large black cloaks with red clouds on them, which marked them both as members of Akatsuki. This was likely to be hard work.

**Ok, so I figure that Madara has other reasons to pick members of Akatsuki other than S-rank missing nin status. Some may have a connection to the Jinchuuriki of their home village. I also got a little bored with all the Jinchuuriki being in a genin team, so I tried something a little different. I also put Hidan and Kakuzu in since they're both so fun. If you're immortal or close to it, why not smash through things for fun. I also decided to slightly update my previous chapters, so the Biju, and Han's name are right. Though I like Kiyoshi, so won't change that name, or sad tale. Thanks to sportygurl1997 for the name, and thanks to Cybertoy00 for Testu (though it has now changed, I'm still grateful). Many thanks to Soike, for pointing out that the names and Biju were now known, and actually giving me the names.  
**

**So timeline goes a little like this:-**

**Gaara; 1 year after Yashimaru (The Kazekage mentionned is the Yondaime)  
**

**Yugito; 4 years before start of series**

**Kiyoshi (yes I know it's now Yagura, but I like the name); 6 years before the start of series**

**R****ō****shi; first year of time skip**

**Han;a full 16 years before series  
**

**Utakata; Second year of time skip**

**Oh and I still don't own Naruto.**


	7. Seven's Heaven

Seven's Heaven

There was a bizarre, yet frequent, sight for those who lived in Takigakure. A girl who looked no older than 16 was soaring high above the village on what seemed to be a pair of wings made from chakra. Had anyone from Hoshigakure seen her, there would have been an attempt to either capture her to find out how she learnt something so similar to their prized techniques, or kill her to prevent those secrets escaping. Such a thing had happened before, when the girl had been less careful. Fortunately for her, the jounin had no idea of just who he was facing, and thus was unprepared for when his would be victim lost control and unleashed 4 tails of demonic chakra. For the flying ability of the girl called Fū was not given by exposure to a rock that fell from the stars, but from the imprisonment and chakra of the Shichibi no Kabutomushi, the seven tailed horned beetle.

The elders of Takigakure didn't seal the Shichibi because it was attacking their home. Nor was it sealed to provide the village with a secret weapon. The Shichibi was sealed to provide it with a sanctuary of sorts, in which it would be protected from those that hunted it. In return, it would help its host in any possible way, aiding the girl in her times of need willingly, and occasionally with excessive violence. The Shichibi didn't say what had scared it, but the elders had assumed it was just being paranoid. Of course, since the Shichibi is the third most powerful of the Biju and therefore not easily scared, the council should've known better. After all, it's not paranoia if someone's really out to get you.

Fū was an odd child. Born with green hair, and pupil less orange eyes, her appearance was bizarre even amongst shinobi, especially those without a Kekkai Genkai. She had spent most of her childhood in a large house wither every need catered for, despite the fact she had no parents. She seemed most comfortable when surrounded by insects, and they seemed content around her. She spent most of her time dreaming of ways to fly, until she achieved that dream by tapping into the Shichibi's chakra. That happened on the day of her chuunin field promotion, when she was ambushed by a genin cell complete with jounin sensei. She killed the genin, and fatally wounded the jounin, who lived just long enough to reveal they'd been sent to capture and convert the Jinchuuriki. She hadn't known until then the reasons for her village's kindness. In her confusion, the Shichibi took the opportunity to aid its host, and gave her access to its chakra. The wings were good to use as weapons as well apparently, as they sliced clean through the jounin protective gear and defensive jutsu with ease.

High amongst the clouds, Fū remembered how she'd been treated and was grateful. The stories of Sabaku no Gaara had spread far and wide, and she shuddered when she realized that her village could have easily treated her the same way Sunagakure had treated him. Jinchuuriki did not have the most pleasant of reputations, a throwback to the time of the Niidaime Kazekage. Barely more than shells for demons to inhabit, they'd destroyed many before the demon's chakra consumed them. She smiled. Compared to those times, she was in heaven.

As she swooped down one of the waterfalls that gave her village its name, the spray of water caught the sunlight, causing a rainbow to appear to the villagers. Most of the civilians pointed to the sky and laughed, content that their guardian angel was watching over them and protecting them from the world's dangers.

**Not brilliant, but interesting. If a Biju knew people were hunting it, and they can speak, why not make an alliance with some like the creatures that are hunting it. Offer to be sealed for a brief time, and help the humans defend themselves, and by proxy the Biju. Since the Shichibi is the only Biju that can fly, and as more tails appear on a Jinchuuriki the more they resemble the Biju, surely F****ū**** can fly as well. At least, that's what I thought. Two to go, the most fun to do as well. They may take some time to do though.**

**Update to timeline:**

**F****ū; About the time of Yugito's capture (I figure she was the last or second last captured before they attempted Kirabi since she's got a very powerful Biju. As for them attempting to capture Naruto early, he was young, inexperienced and could barely release the Kyuubi, so was an easy target with the minor exception of who his sensei was.)**

**If you hadn't noticed, I'm trying to get each one to have different treatment as a child, since all we know for sure is Gaara having assassination attempts, and Naruto being ignored by his peers thanks to their parents. I could have them all go the Gaara route, but that would be boring.**

**The rhyme I use is rather obscure, and quite old. Dearth, if you don't know, means lack. It goes to nine so I thought I'd try to make it fit.**

**Despite all claims to the contrary, I still don't own Naruto, and most likely never will. Never say never though.**


	8. Eight's Hell

Eight's Hell

A white haired, black skinned shinobi sat in a darkened room, surrounded with scrolls. Ever since his sensitivity to light was discovered, he'd sat in various dark secluded places, trying to avoid the hated beams that brought delight to the rest of humanity. Forgotten by most of the village, he was one of the dark legends of Kumogakure, the Village hidden in the Clouds. He is Jinchuuriki, the host of the Hachibi no Kyogyū, the eight tailed giant ox. His name is Kirabi, and he is one of the most dangerous Jinchuuriki alive, mostly due to his tenant being cooperative and aiding him to use all of the Biju's chakra without causing major damage to either the seal on him, or the tissue of the host body itself. The Hachibi is rather intelligent, and understands that helping the puny human is helping it in the future. The Biju never do anything without a reason, and self preservation is a powerful enough reason to make even one of the most dangerous beings in existence to act.

His current abode is also one of his oldest, and the one where he'd spent most of his time. A cave hidden deep in the Valley of Clouds and Lightning, a sacred, secret place that only those of the Yotsuki clan and their trusted allies knew of. Any time he got too near to the entrance, the sunlight would start to cause pain and irritation of his skin. More than this, it would eventually cause the rise of memories buried deep in his mind to surface, bringing dark thoughts that had been repressed to mind.

Similar to most Jinchuuriki, he hadn't had the greatest of early lives. People assumed that a child was incapable of defending itself, which led to most being defended by adults. The natural world works based on this logic. However, Jinchuuriki tend to seem too alien, too inhuman, for most adults to want to protect. Kirabi still had his parents, but they feared him. They loved him for being their son, yet loathed him for being a reminder of all the hate and power of the Hachibi. When others would scorn their son publicly, they'd respond with arguments about kunais and scrolls, how their son had existed before the Hachibi and therefore couldn't be the Hachibi reincarnated. However, in private, in the security of their own home, they had their doubts though they never let any show.

The best thing that happened in his life was his older brother. His brother loved him unconditionally, despite finding out that the Hachibi was sealed in his brother. When he was told, his parents had prepared countless arguments to convince him that Kirabi was still his baby brother, but none were needed. He'd only shrugged then gone straight back to playing with him. It strengthened their belief that their son was not a monster. As they'd grown up, his older brother saw how the village viewed his brother, and vowed to change all that by becoming the Raikage. The Yotsuki clan had always possessed large amounts of chakra, and the brothers were no exception. Kirabi, however, held the power of the Hachibi as well, and was taught how to use it, becoming extremely powerful very quickly. His brother on the other hand worked extremely hard to keep up with him, and proved to be a monster in battle in his own right. Both brothers learned the way of the blade, but only Kirabi showed real prowess, showing enough skill to impress the Raikage enough to order seven identical blades for him. He developed his own unique style that proved both completely unpredictable and terrifyingly lethal.

His first meeting with the Hachibi came after a training session which left him exhausted. With his sensei unimpressed, he'd been ordered to meditate for eight hours. After two hours, he'd fallen into his mindscape, and come face to face with a being that could destroy almost anything. The great Biju was locked behind a cage, and came to an arrangement with Kirabi. He could use its chakra as long as after the first time more than four tails were used, it could roam free inside his mindscape, and not be caged like a common beast. After extracting a vow that it would not try to escape or harm his loved ones, Kirabi agreed.

Problems started to arise when their parents died. Kirabi discovered their bodies on a battlefield, surrounded with the corpses of Iwagakure ninja. In his grief, a squad of Iwa Anbu and hunter Nin came to destroy their fallen ninja's bodies. They attacked him, and his grief turned to rage. It was the first time he'd felt so much emotion while using the Hachibi's chakra, and more chakra rushed through his seal than ever before. Where he normally used one tail at most, his anger allowed a total of six tails to come through. The Hachibi came out from behind the bars and allowed Kirabi to sit on its head. Since it was the first time the Biju's chakra had been used in large amounts, he couldn't remember what he'd done, though the only new bodies he'd found had been Iwa nins.

The real problems started when the council received word of what had happened. Kirabi had been placed in chakra draining manacles and placed in a heavily sealed room to await judgement. His brother, being the new clan head, managed to swallow his grief at his parents' demise long enough to power his way through the judgement, meeting the opposition head on like a bull. He broke the arm of the first man to call his brother a demon, then warned that future slurs would be met rather more violently. He managed to get his brother a reprieve, on the understanding that Kirabi would be forbidden from releasing the full form of the Hachibi in Kumogakure territory.

When released, Kirabi was promoted to Jounin, and introduced to Yugito Nii, Jinchuuriki of the Nibi no Nekomata. He taught her how to meditate, how to speak with respect to a Biju. He taught her how to harness the Nibi's chakra and how to transform into a miniature form of the Nibi. At the time he was given a genin team to look after, three genin who showed the most proficiency in kenjutsu since Kirabi himself. Samui, Omoi and Karui were nervous at first to meet the two Jinchuuriki, but soon discovered that Kirabi was effective teacher and Yugito was just as nervous around them. The team grew to become one of the most feared teams in Kumo's history, and they were quickly promoted, gaining fame throughout Kumo.

Despite his success with a genin team, he was never put in charge of genin again, even after his brother became the Raikage. In fact, he was kept around as a "Guardian" of Kumogakure, the same as Yugito, though there was one major difference. Kirabi knew they were effectively prisoners on a loose chain, so to give the illusion of freedom. He also knew that only four people would come to help them if they were in dire trouble; his brother, Samui, Omoi and Karui. Yugito had still had her delusions intact. Or at least, right up until the point Akatsuki had attacked, and the city had almost completely abandoned her. Once he'd found that out he knew nothing had changed. Kumogakure had never been a nice place when he was younger, and even his brother in charge couldn't remove the scars left in his psyche. To him, Kumo was hell, a hell he would leave behind for good in a heartbeat, if he could see his brother and students from time to time. That is what made it so much worse, and the reason hell is so feared. It was a torment he could walk away from if he wanted, but then the pain of separation would be so much worse. He remembered how he'd felt when he lost his parents. He didn't want his brother to go through that again.

**Okay, 8 down one to go. Wow, that was quite long. The ending may be slightly unclear, but his mental state is unravelling by being cooped up in a place he hates for so long. I know it would drive me crazy to know I could go free if I wanted to, but to do so would mean I would be all alone. It was fun to write, though my usual muse only woke up at weird times during the last two , and I know that Kumo are mad about Yugito or seem to be, but I thought that in his mental state (in my fic anyway), he'd not notice, or think it's due to them loosing prestige and a guardian.  
**

**Kirabi: set between Yugito's capture and the attempt on Kirabi.**

**Naruto's may take a little while to finish, though I hope to have it out by the end of the month. Hopefully you enjoyed this little addition, though I'm kinda annoyed at their being a Juubi now. There was a rhyme which went to ten, using the same line for ten as this one's nine. It's more fitting, and it would be fun to try the Rikudo Sennin as a host. Ah well, we'll just see what I can do for this.**

**I still don't own Naruto, though some of the liquid inspiration used to aid me is my own creation.**


	9. And Nine's the devil, his old self

**And Nine's the Devil, his old self**

A young, spiky blonde haired man sat with his head in his hands in a dark, dank sewer. His pain was so great that it almost seeped into the very air surrounding him. Should he raise his head, he'd see a great golden gate being held shut by only a single sheet of paper with the word seal inscribed upon it in Kanji. Behind the gate, a silhouette could be seen, with nine shadowy tails flowing behind it, and a pair of glowing red, merciless eyes. This form belonged to none other than the Kyuubi no Kitsune, the Nine Tailed Fox and the most powerful of the nine Biju. The young man was his jailer, the current Toad Sage Uzumaki Naruto, and the sewer was his mindscape.

He was currently in a state of shock from seeing Hyuuga Hinata, a girl from his graduating class, declare her love for him then promptly get stabbed by the man who killed Jiraiya, Pain. He felt worse than he ever had before, a bond being shown that he hadn't known about, then being violently snuffed out by someone who seemed to be killing his precious people, one by one. First Jiraiya, then Kakashi, and now Hinata. His grief made his mind wander, and the water beneath his feet began to show memories of his life.

His early life had been hard. Set up in a private apartment by the Sandaime Hokage as soon as the orphanage had raised him enough to be self sufficient, he'd had few friends. Most adults avoided him and spoke in muttered whispers when they thought he was out earshot. At the Ninja Academy, things weren't much better, since the majority of the students had been told to be wary of him by their parents, and those who hadn't been told to, followed the crowd in leaving him alone, trying not to lose their friends. At least the adults were never stupid enough to try to attack him, to do so would invoke the wrath of the Hokage, who was as protective over Naruto as he was over his own kin. Hatred was useless towards a child who never had a choice over his fate, and so indifference was practiced. Ignoring the problem in the hope that it would go away. Unfortunately, it prompted the young Jinchuuriki to play pranks on the village as he desperately craved even the slightest bit of attention. Indifference cuts deeper than hatred, it numbs the soul like ice, while hatred burns around you like fire but rarely goes deeper than skin.

The night he passed his genin exam, his world was turned upside down. He'd finally learned a bunshin technique, a high level one at that, and he felt confident about passing the course. Unfortunately, that was when Mizuki attacked Iruka, and told Naruto about the Kyuubi. He'd run off in confusion, only to hear Iruka's heartfelt speech about how he was a precious student, and not a demon. In response, Naruto attacked Mizuki, going a little too far in defence of the first ninja outside of the Hokage to acknowledge him, and beating the man into unconsciousness.

On his first C-rank mission, he got a taste of the true life of a shinobi. He met Momochi Zabuza, an A-rank missing nin from Kirigakure, and a boy called Haku, who turned out to be working for Zabuza. The boy taught Naruto about precious people, then tried to take away one of Naruto's by attacking Sasuke. The anger that he felt allowed Kyuubi's chakra to flow into him for the first time, strengthening his muscles and healing his wounds. When he realised that Haku was the masked ninja he was fighting, his rage dissipated, and the foxes influence fled from his mind, though he never realised that he'd tapped into its chakra.

After the snake freak had sealed it away, and the pervy sage had unsealed it, he'd encountered the chakra again. Only this time, he'd visited his mindscape for the first time, after being thrown off a cliff into a ravine, in a desperate attempt to deliberately tap into the fox's power. He'd come face to face with rage incarnate, a hideously powerful being who had a malignant, malevolent intelligence just lurking below the waves of anger and fury. He'd withstood the wave of chakra that threatened to blow him away, and brazenly demanded its chakra as rent. The Kyuubi allowed more chakra to flow through the seal; all the while he could almost _feel_ the amusement and disdain the great Biju felt for him. As the chakra filled his system, he caught a glimpse of the true nature of his prisoner.

It was times like these when he could understand the villager's fear. It was times like these when the Kyuubi seemed so _alien_ and unlike anything else he'd ever known. It was times like these he could admit that he believed the Kyuubi was the devil himself. The sheer power that the mere presence of the Kyuubi gave out was immense. It was as unstoppable as the sea, never ending as time itself, never tamed or controlled, only held at bay temporarily or vaguely directed.

When he was betrayed by his best friend and teammate, Uchiha Sasuke, he'd been overpowered by the Scion of the Uchiha, forcing him to use the Kyuubi's chakra once more. As the Uchiha's Sharingan awoke to its three tomoe form, Naruto had been beaten down even with the foul chakra surrounding him, forcing the Kyuubi to push more chakra through the seal and a single blood red tail to form behind him. The resulting boost in speed and power would've been enough had the Uchiha not tapped into the power of the cursed seal bestowed upon him by the snake freak Orochimaru. Sasuke left Naruto bloody and unconscious, unable to bring himself to kill his friend.

After healing up from his wounds, the pervy sage Jiraiya took him on a training trip to hone his skills and prepare him for the attempts of Akatsuki to capture him. It turned out that the Yondaime had given Jiraiya the means to alter the seal slightly, a key to either tighten or loosen the seal. Jiraiya chose to loosen it, reasoning that Naruto may need to access the potent chakra of the Kyuubi to defeat some of his future enemies. However, upon loosening the seal, it became apparent that this was a mistake, as Naruto lost conscious control and saw everything as a potential threat, launching pre-emptive strikes against Jiraiya and severely wounding him before he attached a suppression seal to Naruto and the chakra receded. According to Jiraiya later, he'd had a total of four tails and turned a sizeable area of grassland into a crater. They agreed to not meddle with the seal again, as the results were unpredictable to say the least.

After returning to Konoha and learning of Gaara's kidnap at the hands of Akatsuki, he'd rushed off to try to rescue the only person he knew who could understand his pain. After they found him limp and in the hands of two men, he'd chased after the one who took the body in a rage. His anger peaked when they managed to recover Gaara and discovered he was dead, and two tails of Kyuubi's chakra leaked out before Kakashi could suppress it with a seal given to him by Jiraiya. When Chiyo sacrificed her life to resurrect Gaara and required more chakra, he gladly volunteered some of his own to save one who was a brother in spirit.

On meeting Orochimaru again, he accessed the Kyuubi's chakra almost instantly, his rage at the Sannin allowing first one, then three full tails of chakra to appear. After three tails proved to not be enough to injure him and he started to compare him to Sasuke, his fury increased and a fourth tail appeared, forcing him to turn into a miniature Kyuubi lookalike, complete with evil grinning face, a malicious aura and under the influence of the Kyuubi. This form proved capable of injuring the annoying man and attempted to blow him away with a powerful compressed ball of chakra. This was barely blocked and Naruto was beaten back by the Kusanagi, but not scratched of harmed in anyway. Unfortunately, Sakura was nearby and ran to him begging him to stop. The influenced Naruto proceeded to attack her, and was only stopped by Yamato's Biju suppression abilities. Yamato later told Naruto later of what happened and not to use the Kyuubi's chakra again if he wanted to not injure his comrades. Naruto was horrified and agreed instantly.

When they finally succeeded in catching up to Sasuke, the Kyuubi tried to influence him once more. Naruto argued with it, and told it that he'd never use its chakra again. The Kyuubi managed to partially manifest outside the seal, and commented on how he'd relied on it before, and how he would again. Naruto's will held until Sasuke arrived in his mindscape and drove the Kyuubi back behind the seal, ignoring the comments about Uchiha Madara and how he'd regret it if he killed Naruto.

Remembering these events reminded Naruto about his present problems, and the pain he felt for Hinata. He asked for anyone to stop the pain, and the Kyuubi responded, its entrancing voice telling him to surrender his heart and it would make the pain go away. Becoming tempted by this offer, the seal on his stomach distorted and twisted, the spiral turning into a hole, looking like an eye weeping blood which gathered around him. In the pool of darkness, he caught a glimpse of eight tails destroying a gigantic prison made of rocks. The Kyuubi enticed him to remove the seal and take vengeance.

He stood; hand almost on the sealed paper, ready to release the Kyuubi upon the world once more. As his hand touched it, he felt a hand on his arm and his world vanished in a yellow flash.

**And cut! Good place to end it I think. This is it, the last chapter of Counting Biju. It's been fun to write, and hopefully this chapter is up to snuff. Overshot my target of the end of October slightly, but this has given me something to do on my 7 hour train ride home. **

**If you can't tell, this is set after Hinata got stabbed, while being trapped by the Chibaku Tensei, and unleashing the six and eight tailed forms. Thanks to myth buster for the idea.**

**Once the Rikudo Sennin was outed as a Jinchuuriki for the Juubi, I was slightly disappointed that I didn't start this idea later, as I found a rhyme which went to 10, where the last line was "And ten's the devil his own sel'". Just as fitting really, but hey, no use crying over spilt milk. Thanks to all reviewers, it's always nice to get a response and some ideas from people.**

**Time to decide for New Beginnings now, and whether I should start a new story. Ah well, no rest for the wicked I suppose.**


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